The ISU women’s basketball team begins a difficult home stretch of its conference schedule this Wednesday when it goes to battle against No. 13 Texas A&M in Hilton Coliseum.

Texas A&M (19-4, 9-2 Big 12) is tied for first in the conference and is coming off a 10-point home win against No. 14 Oklahoma over the weekend. The Aggies enter the game extremely hot, having won six straight and nine of their last 10.

“They’re playing with an amazing amount of confidence. They’ve won six games in a row, and they’ve won a lot of close games,” coach Bill Fennelly said.

The game is the first of three straight at home for the Cyclones (17-7, 5-6 Big 12), who are 12-1 at Hilton this season. Iowa State plays host to Colorado on Feb. 17 and Nebraska on Feb. 20. Both teams beat the Cyclones the first time around. The Buffaloes beat the Cyclones 81-67 on Jan. 10, while the No. 19 Cornhuskers downed Iowa State 62-49 on January 31.

With the goal of getting 8-8 in conference play, Fennelly and his team know their final five conference games won’t be easy.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Fennelly said of the upcoming schedule. “We play two teams that are tied for first place and a Colorado team that beat us the first time. Obviously it’s difficult, but that’s why you play at this level and coach at this level.”

The Aggies are one of the best teams in the country at turning takeaways into points; their defense is ranked seventh in the nation, allowing a meager 52.8 points per game.

Fennelly labeled the Aggies as a team that is also good at offensive rebounding, and believes a key to the game will be Iowa State’s ability to keep Texas A&M off the offensive glass.

Junior Toccara Ross, who leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 per game, said it is important that the Cyclones win the rebounding battle against such an athletic team.

“As a complete package, A&M is a very athletic team and it’s going to be a challenge for us to keep them off the boards, but it’s something we’re going to have to do,” Ross said.

Senior guard Lyndsey Medders, who leads the Cyclones in scoring at 12.6 points per game, continues to have issues with her health, sitting out the weekend’s game against No. 15 Baylor due to recurring dizziness and nausea stemming from a minor concussion she received prior to the game at Nebraska on Jan. 31.

Fennelly said Medders has been able to shoot around and do some light running, but he is uncertain whether she will be able to play against Texas A&M.

“If I knew the answer, I’d tell you,” Fennelly said. “We need her to play, obviously. It’s not game to game; it’s not day to day. It might be hour-to-hour with her.”

Freshman Alison Lacey is expected to start in Medders’ place, with Medders coming off the bench.